Yesterday afternoon I dropped Hubs off for work. He will likely be out for at least a week. Since I was relatively close to town, I went and did a little shopping. I wanted to get a special card for my granddaughter’s best friend, who lost her father to ALS just a few days ago. We met her a few times when we would visit family downstate. The girls were inseparable. Last February, she (along with my daughter and her family) spent a week at our house, so we got to know her even better. Losing a parent at any age is tough, but I can’t even begin to imagine losing one at only 14 years of age. I also wanted to enclose a little something special for her with the card. Per my granddaughter’s suggestion, I got her a gift card for Starbucks.
There was some brief talk about my daughter and granddaughter coming for the funeral. Then there was some brief discussion about me going to Alaska to watch the other grandchildren while my daughter was away. Flights are surprisingly reasonably inexpensive right now. After going back and forth, we all decided that this might not be the best time. Additionally, the number of canceled flights is crazy, making it questionable if they would even get there in time for the service. Likely my granddaughter will come for a visit at the end of the school year. She will then be of the age where she can fly alone, and she isn’t afraid to do so. Waiting will give the girls something to look forward to.
I finally found the cat food brand (and type) for our cat back in stock. Our furball is pushing 20 years of age, and the last thing I wanted to do was change the cat’s diet. In her old age, she is showing some signs of senility and has for sure gotten a lot thinner. It is hard telling how much longer she will be with us. Hubs dug a hole for her last Fall, but now we hope she makes it through the winter with all the snow. With the cat no longer eating as much, the 16-pound bag should last her until Spring. Cat food sure has gone up in price. It was almost $30, compared to $24 for the last bag I bought.
Today I checked the levels in our propane tanks. One was at 60% and the other at 65%. I’ve never tracked this before, but I think I may start recording the numbers monthly in my budget binder. Although temperatures from year to year can make a difference in our usage, having a record would give me a baseline for comparisons. Much like higher gas prices, propane has gone up considerably as well. We only fill our tanks once a year, but the less we need to buy, the better. Since losing my job and being home a lot more, we are burning more wood, which is cheaper than using our furnace.
As yet another propane saver, I’ve been washing our laundry in cold water, whereas previously, I switched between hot and warm. I can’t say that I’ve noticed any difference in how our clothes look. Another thing I’ve done is turn our water heater down. Hubs complained one time that the water wasn’t as hot as he likes, so I turn it up whenever he is home. I can tell that when Hubs isn’t home, and the tank temperature is lower, the water heater doesn’t turn on near as much. I realize that one less person in the house also makes a difference in usage. Pick my battles, but save where I can!
Below is another picture of our cabin/shop move.
Hi Lucy. I have noticed that cat food has been in low stock also, especially the wet kind. I give our kitty 1/2 can every day for her lunch with her medicine mixed in. So far I have been ok in finding enough, but not always her favorite kinds, or not enough to stock more than 1-2 extra boxes. Her dry food has been ok to find. I stocked enough for the winter this last fall. And, yea, the prices have risen here too.
Hi Chris. Who would have ever thought we would face cat food shortages? Good that your kitty is willing to eat different varieties. Our cat has always been finicky. Given her weight loss, I wish we could get her to eat higher caloric food. At her age, though, we will let her do her own thing. Glad you were able to stock enough to last your kitty through the winter.
For the past couple of years I have ordered all my pet stuff from Amazon Subscribe and Save. The past 6 months or more I am down to them only having like one item in stock to send me now. I’ve been just having to get the dog food at the feed store when I pick up the chicken stuff and all the treats and whatnot from Walmart. It was easier and cheaper to get them each month from Amazon, but I guess those days are past.
When we had our dogs, I’d buy most of our pet supplies online via Walmart. I’d get our cat supplies at the same time. Nice having it all delivered. Then it got to where I was having trouble finding the brand of cat litter we buy, so I just started buying all the supplies at the store. Crazy how difficult some of this stuff is to find. Do you get your chicken stuff from TSC or another feed store? I’ve never checked to see if they sell what I buy for our cat, but it might be worth checking into.